Wednesday February 16th, 2022
The Atlin Whisper “Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world.” Margaret Mead
THE GLOBE “Is this a guitar which I see before me, the neck towards my hand.” by Paul Lucas Atlin,Sept.1999. I dropped my bag of cables, swung my guitar case further back on my shoulder, inserted the little key and turned till it snicked. The door swung open into the tiny lobby with its little ticket alcove off to the right. Pushing open the double doors, I stopped and looked into the house the rows of theatre seats, the old movie posters on the wall, and the little stage with its ramp and stairs. We were playing once again at the Globe Theatre and I was looking forward to it.
There are places that musicians love to play. They stand in stark contrast to the countless strange venues we find ourselves performing in over the span of a career. The Globe is one of my favourite performance spaces, and there are reasons for that. But before we go there, let’s take a trip to the darker side, and look at several of the colourful, peculiar, and occasionally soul destroying playing situations that I, along with the rest of my musical brothers and sisters in arms, have found myself in over the years. Colourful is a good place to start. --The Vancouver of my youth provided colour in abundance. Vancouver is a port town, and in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, it was as rough and ready as any port in North America. The music scene was alive and well. There were places to play no matter what style you chose. Primarily, though, it was a Rhythm and Blues/Jazz town. Jazz and R+B have always found a home in the honky tonks of the world, and the clubs of Vancouver were no exception. The venues ranged from the strangest dives you can imagine to the more